[soon2bemom]

You know there are an awful lot of tests which children are routinely screened for at birth in this country. If a child is older and healthy in every way then your pediatrician may decide to skip some of them. However the absolute MINIMUM which I think ALL adopted Guatemalan children MUST be tested for on arrival are:

CBC (blood count for anemia)
Blood Chemistry (minimum would be ALT,AST, BUN, and Creatinine for liver and kidney function)
Ova and Parasites (screen for worms)
Stool Culture (screen for shigella and salmonella)
Giardia (screen for malabsorption)
Thyroid Function

It is worthwhile to note that most cases of Giardia are missed on a standard Ova and Parasite. If my child had any evidence of diarrhea, or incomplete digestion or absorption of food, I would demand repeats on the Giardia test. (It took us six months of treatment to clear out Giardia from my oldest son after we lived in Nicaragua)

In an older child I would recommend getting titers on all immunizations (some people have found unpleasant surprises- that there is no blood evidence the child got those immunizations written on the paper). In a baby this would not be necessary because immunizations are repeated so many times in infancy that you are sure to get coverage.

Finally a TB test. The skin test is okay, but if your child recently got BCG, or got several BCG then the new tests which are coming out would be better. (There are four different ones including the QFT-gold and they can distinguish between TB and BCG)

I might be wrong but I believe that all adopted children are screened for HIV, Hepatitis B and Syphilis prior to coming to this country but I suppose it depends on whether the results were given to you, and how much you trust the results you were given.